


I've Got You

by Captain_Jade



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Romance, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27882094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Jade/pseuds/Captain_Jade
Summary: "Let me get this straight. You're crying because you couldn't pick up a cool rock?"Cole glares at Jay. His cheeks would have been tear-stained if he was capable of producing tears, but instead they're still green-tinted, cloudy, and translucent, just like the rest of him. Cole's not sure if it even counts as crying. It doesn't feel the same as crying when he was human, not that he cried that often anyway. He hadn't wanted anyone to see him. Why else would he have walked 7 miles from the Destiny's Bounty to stand on the shore alone without telling anyone where he was going? Apparently that wasn't enough though, because Jay had found him anyway. "You promised you wouldn't laugh."
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 91





	I've Got You

"Let me get this straight. You're crying because you couldn't pick up a cool rock?"

Cole glares at Jay. His cheeks would have been tear-stained if he was capable of producing tears, but instead they're still green-tinted, cloudy, and translucent, just like the rest of him. Cole's not sure if he's even capable of crying. It doesn't feel the same as crying when he was human. Not that he cried that often anyway. He hadn't wanted anyone to see him. Why else would he have walked 7 miles from the Destiny's Bounty to stand on the shore alone without telling anyone where he was going? Apparently that wasn't enough though, because Jay had found him and interrogated him until he told him what was wrong. "You promised you wouldn't laugh."

"I'm not laughing! I'm just...I mean, it's just a rock, Cole. You don't have to get so upset about it," Jay says, looking warily at how close Cole is standing to the edge of the ocean. “Could you... can you come over here, please?”

“I’m not gonna jump. I’m just looking at the water.”

“Right. I know, but I don’t want you to accidentally get wet or anything.”

Cole pauses, sighs, and then walks back up the shore closer to where Jay is standing. Although he's a good foot taller than the blue ninja, he feels small. His arms are crossed over his chest and his face is turned away, stubbornly refusing to make eye-contact with Jay.

"So..." Jay says awkwardly. "You wanna go back home?"

"No."

"Uh. Okay. We'll just...we can just sit here, then." Jay sits down on the sand and looks up at Cole. Cole reluctantly follows suit, although he still refuses to look at Jay.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Cole sighs and buries his face in his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm being really stupid," he mutters.

"No! You're not being stupid. I...I get the feeling this isn't just about a rock, is it?"

Cole takes a few moments before shaking his head no. He examines his hands and tries to grab a handful of sand to no prevail. He grunts angrily and exhales sharply. "It takes _so much_ effort just to hold objects in my hands...I...I mean, it's just kinda hard to be focused and present when you can't feel your body and you're...literally dead."

"You didn't _die,_ though, you just became a ghost!"

Cole glares at him. "It's the same thing, Jay. Ghosts aren't alive. I don't have a heartbeat. I don't think I even have a heart anymore. Do I still have internal organs?"

Jay frowns, and is silent for a few moments before replying. "I don't know about internal organs. But you have a heart, I can tell you that with certainty."

Cole rolls his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"I mean that, Cole. It may be metaphorical, but it's a lot more real than a lot of other people's hearts."

"...Thanks." Cole looks up at the sky, which is beginning to turn orange as the sun sets. Jay follows his gaze.

They sit there in silence for a long time, until the light that reflects upon the waves gently lapping against the shore is replaced with the sun by the moon and stars. Cole looks up at the sky. He used to know the names of the constellations. Whenever he was up awake at night unable to sleep, which was often, he would go outside and look at the stars. Sometimes Master Wu would join him, and he would point out the different patterns in the sky. That hadn't happened in a long time. The threats were getting worse, and Wu didn't always seem so wise and all-knowing anymore.

"Jay?" Cole says finally.

"Yeah?"

"You can go home if you want. I'm probably gonna be out here a while."

Jay shakes his head firmly. "No. I'm staying."

"Well, don't feel like you have to just because of me."

"Cole."

Cole turns to look at Jay. They maintain eye-contact for probably an entire minute, which is pretty weird considering Jay's usually never able to hold eye-contact with anyone for very long. "What?" Cole says finally, a little weirded out by Jay's silence.

"You don't have to be alone."

Cole looks away. If only that were true. He's always been a bit of a loner, but he's _never_ been as lonely as he is right now. He feels so far away from everything and everyone. Jay reaches out to hold his hand, but it goes right through, reinforcing the feeling of separation from the rest of the world he's been feeling ever since he turned into a ghost. "Jay, I can't...I can't do that," he whispers, retracting his hand and holding it against his chest.

"Yes you can," Jay says calmly. "You can do it, Cole. Just focus on me."

And Cole looks at Jay, at the particular way the moonlight hits his blue eyes and accents his freckles, and at his hand, outstretched and waiting patiently, and at the kind, gentle expression on his face, and if Cole had tear ducts, he would have burst into tears. Instead, his chest heaves and he bursts into dry sobs, trying to take Jay's hand. It goes right through, so he tries again and again, and every time misses, he feels farther and farther away. Finally he gives up and he wraps his arms around himself instead, shaking his head. "I'm...n-not even a r-real person anymore, Jay," he sobs. "Why are you here? Why do you care?"

"Because I love you."

The words ring through the air, and Cole stops crying out of pure shock. That definitely isn't what he was expecting him to say. Everything is silent. He'd have thought Jay would look at least a little nervous after a huge confession like that, but his gaze is every bit as intense as it has been, maybe even more so. "You...you do?" Cole asks quietly.

"I do. I meant what I said at the tournament of elements—I was upset about losing Nya, but that was nothing compared to how awful I felt about losing you. Nya's great, but I realized while we were fighting that it wasn't her I was after. It...it was you."

Cole doesn't say a word. He's not sure if he's even able to at this point.

Jay takes a deep breath and continues, "it's always been you. Always. You've always been there for me, for years, even before we even had our elemental powers. You've always taken care of me, even though I know I can...probably be a pain in the ass sometimes." Cole almost smiles at this. Jay looks him straight in the eyes. "Let me take care of you this time. Please. Hold my hand, Cole."

Cole closes his eyes, trying to sort out the millions of conflicting emotions he's feeling right now. "Jay...I...I love you too," he murmurs. "But I can't-"

"Hold my hand, Cole," Jay repeats.

It's then when Cole realizes that he can feel his chest. It's not really a good feeling, more like a hollow, aching feeling. But it's physical. He focuses on that, shakily breathing in and out until he identifies a few more feelings—the butterflies in his stomach and the lump in his throat and the feeling of the ground beneath him. He looks at Jay again, and he almost feels human. He doesn't hold his hand. He kisses him.

He hears Jay gasp quietly as he nearly knocks him over, but he quickly steadies himself and wraps his arms around Cole. Cole breathes in this sensation, holding Jay in his arms and kissing him like he has a million times in his dreams. Jay kisses him back just as intensely, and Cole doesn't think he's ever felt anything so vividly, even before he was a ghost. When they finally pull away, Cole leans into Jay. "I love you," he breathes.

"I know," Jay grins.

"Never mind. I hate you," Cole clarifies, but he's unable to stop himself from smiling admirably down at him. He feels himself slipping a little, but he swallows and focuses on this feeling, the warmth blooming in his chest and the sensation of holding Jay in his arms.

"You're gonna be okay, Cole," Jay assures him. "I promise. We'll figure out how to get your body back someday, but until then..." He shifts so that he can look Cole in the eyes again, wrapping his arms around his neck and smiling sadly at him. "Until then I've got you."


End file.
